Turkey and Israel will complete the process of exchanging ambassadors within one week to 10 days, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Thursday (October 13), a key step in a process of normalizing ties ruptured six years ago.
His comments in a news conference came after the two countries agreed on Thursday to deepen cooperation in the energy sector.
Relations between the two countries crumbled after Israeli marines stormed a humanitarian aid ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, killing 10 Turkish activists on board. Israel and Turkey announced in June that they would normalize ties.
Kalin also addressed the impending military operation against Islamic State's stronghold of Mosul, in Iraq. The spokesperson said any mistake in a planned U.S.-backed operation could “result in hundreds of thousands of refugees” and “Turkey is locked in an escalating row with Iraq, Turkey is a member of the international coalition against Islamic State but has troops stationed in Iraq against Baghdad's will.
Ankara has also vehemently opposed the involvement of Kurdish groups in the war, including semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan forces.
Turkey is fighting a decades-old Kurdish insurgency within its borders and violence has erupted between Kurd groups and Turkish-backed forces in Syria.